Faculty Research and Development Centres

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FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Centre for Child and Family Science

Vision
To become the centre of excellence for child and family science in the Greater China and Asia Pacific Region.

Mission

To embark on high-quality, innovative interdisciplinary research that makes a meaningful difference to children, families, and the community;
To translate research findings into practice and a source of useful information to improve systems and policies pertinent to child and family wellbeing;
To provide professional support to families, schools, and the community;
To organise knowledge exchange activities to bring research and skills to the public sphere, particularly with respect to childhood and family issues; and
To forge dialogues, engagement and partnerships among academia, community-based organisations and the government, for insights into the dynamics of child, family and the community.

Our Work
The Centre for Child and Family Science (CCFS) has a responsibility and unwavering commitment to provide applicable research outputs, knowledge and services that support and applaud the relationship between the child, family, school, and community. It draws on the interwoven expertise of academics within and beyond the University, and other professionals in the community, to achieve synergies and stimulate innovation. There are two major domains on which CCFS works, each with different foci and contributions that drive the Centre towards growth with excellence and diversity:

Research and Innovation
CCFS's research places emphasis on innovative, interdisciplinary, and interactive initiatives at an international level including:

Producing and disseminating scientifically-derived knowledge on child and family studies, particularly in Asian contexts, through the delivery of applied research;
Designing quality and innovative research for securing funding from different sources;
Establishing networks across borders and cultures for academic collaboration and exchange;
Facilitating the publication of high-quality research outputs across platforms and formats; and
Bridging or bringing scholars, practitioners and agencies from multiple disciplines together to address education, social and cultural issues for the healthy development of child and family functioning.

Professional Development and Support
CCFS also serves as a vehicle for moving research to practice and back, to have practice inform our research. It strives to provide quality professional development and support services to practitioners, agencies, systems, and communities to help children and their families thrive. Through these development and support services, the Centre may collect quantitative and qualitative data and evidence to support its research.

Typical knowledge transfer activities around child development and family dynamics include:

Consultancy and training services for schools, government and non-government agencies, academics and practitioners to implement advanced practices, innovative initiatives, informed decisions and policies. Formats include partnership and commissioned projects, strategic consultancy and advisory, professional development programmes, etc.
Conferences, seminars, forums and workshops to disseminate research-informed knowledge to the public, academics and practitioners locally and internationally.
Community engagement activities to raise public awareness and foster positive changes in child and family well-being.
Organisational and School-based quality improvement schemes to empower organisations and schools in policy-making, design and implementation of context-sensitive strategies, and effective deployment of resources to support positive development of children and families.

Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

The Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is established as a pedagogical professional development centre under the Academy for Educational Development and Innovation (AEDI) of the University. The Centre's vision is to become a major professional development centre in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region, taking on a leading role in enhancing educator capacity and teaching effective pedagogies. CELT's mission is to improve classroom learning, develop effective pedagogy and nurture excellent teachers. It aims to heighten teaching and learning effectiveness by embracing teaching innovations that meet ever-changing educational needs. The Centre will cater for diverse learners in all classroom settings in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific.

CELT will have impact on local, regional and international contexts. Locally, it provides continuous consultancy services, professional development programmes and collaborative projects to schools that empower teachers and students to achieve excellence. Regionally, it develops an in-depth partnership with a large number of schools in the local context; and provides more channels for knowledge transfer activities and dissemination in other places of the Asia Pacific region. Internationally, it increases the level of scholarly activities and collaborations in research, professional training and publications between CELT and higher educational institutions in other countries. This will enhance the development of effective pedagogical practices in Hong Kong and contribute to University research outputs.

Centre for Psychosocial Health

Vision and Mission

Establish the evidence base for scalable interventions and education to enhance public mental health; and
Conduct research and develop practice in school settings to the existing strength of CPH in health and community psychology.

Our Work

Enhance community well-being;
Elucidate social psychological processes for health promotion; and
Promote positive health in schools.

Areas of Expertise

Psychosocial Health
Stress Adaptation and Resilience
Positive Health in School and Community Settings

Psychological Assessment and Clinical Research Unit
The Unit operates as a service and a research unit. Apart from providing various specialised psychological services to the general public, the Unit also conducts research projects that are relevant to human cognitive, behavioural, and emotional functioning. Specialised services within the discipline of psychology are provided by registered clinical psychologists, educational psychologists, and/or counsellors.

Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education

The Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education (CRSE) is a development centre under the Academy for Educational Development and Innovation (AEDI). The Centre was established in 2006 with generous donations from five school-sponsoring religious organisations: Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Ching Chung Taoist Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Sik Sik Yuen and the Hong Kong Buddhist Association. Since 2010, we have established authentic collaborations with different agencies and have received various sponsorships and donations in support of the Centre's projects and initiatives. We look forward to future collaborations with more organisations through innovative, creative and productive channels.

Mission and Tasks of the Centre
1. To promote religious, spirituality, life values and holistic education (especially newly-emerged domains arising from changing social needs and circumstances) to education and related sectors through various programmes and projects, based on professional consolidation of good practices/research;
2. To foster public awareness on the focused education areas, so as to establish critical mass and collaboration with different organisations and stakeholders for further development; and
3. To enkindle policy advocacy through collaborating and synergising with various organisations, especially NGOs and think tanks, to convince both the public and government authorities that Life and Values Education is an essential component of the school curriculum, and eventually achieve related policy changes and support.

The provision of educational programmes, professional projects, and knowledge transfer activities based on existing frameworks and resource management strategies in the post-pandemic context; the optimisation of existing programmes and projects through professional consolidation of good practices in the existing domains; and to further develop a collaborative culture both within the university and beyond to draw on professional strengths and resources that can support the Centre's long term vision and mission.

The Centre also endeavours to promote awareness of and interest, and actions in religious, life education and spirituality issues across the campus and beyond through research and development projects, publications, academic conferences, seminars, and workshops.

The Spiritual Activity Room (B4-P-01) and the Garden in front of the Centre are specially installed for members of the University to conduct spiritual practices or to rejoice in a moment of peace, serenity, and silence.

Integrated Centre for Wellbeing (I-WELL Centre)

Vision

To be a research and resource hub supporting collaborative initiatives towards the development of holistic wellbeing for people of all ages at local and regional communities.

Mission

To educate the community about the importance of personal and family wellbeing;
To coordinate applied research addressing the diverse needs of individuals, families and community wellness; to leverage these research findings to develop evidence-based training programs for individuals with special needs, their families, schools and communities; and
To provide professional training to individuals, groups and organisations; to enhance people's individual potential, quality of life and wellbeing.

Our Key Services

Research Support

Support research centres and colleagues in the University to conduct inter-discipline research in the areas of counselling, neuroscience, mental and physical health of students, and special education needs; and
Collaborate with schools, community units, educational and social welfare organisations to implement applied research projects which address the diverse needs of children, adolescents and development of the community.

Professional Consultancy

Provide outreach programmes and consultancy services to different community units, educational and social welfare organisations; and
Provide professional educational programmes, seminars and workshops to frontline professionals

Community Education

Educate the community about the importance of personal and family wellbeing, and maximise the potential of children and adolescents; and
Equip frontline professionals with knowledge and skills to meet changes and demands in community services.

Parent and Family Education

Provide different types of parent education, resources and support, to families of children and adolescents with special educational needs; and
Provide seminars and workshops enhancing good parenting practices.

Bioanalytical Laboratory for Educational Sciences (BLESS)

Facilitate interdisciplinary research across academic departments in EdUHK and beyond by providing support on experiments with biological analyses and giving both objective and scientific evidence to support researchers' studies; and
Provide consultancy in bioanalytical equipment test for doing various bioanalytical testing and research experiments with a view to analyse biomarkers that infer treatment efficacy or to identify abnormal cases in mental disorders and selected Special Educational Needs (SEN).

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

International Research Centre for Cultural Studies

The International Research Centre for Cultural Studies (IRCCS, 文化研究國際中心) replaced the Centre for Popular Culture in the Humanities (which was established in 2016) in August 2022, as a dynamic and forward-looking vibrant hub for interdisciplinary cultural studies research and development under the Faculty of Humanities (FHM) at The Education University of Hong Kong.

With current research initiatives spanning key primary areas including Critical Migration Studies, Comparative Cultures of Care, and Sustainable Humanities – alongside our community-driven "Once City One Book Hong Kong" Program, and with members across the Humanities and Social Science faculties, IRCCS is dedicated to developing interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, with a strong commitment to innovation, public engagement, and global collaboration. Areas of research include qualitative cultural research (e.g. ethnography, inter-textual studies, diary/memory studies, etc.), visual and digital media studies, cultural and creative industry research, critical care studies, environmental cultural studies, advancing cultural theories such as postcolonial and new materialist theories, critical cultural pedagogy, cultural identity studies, and so on. Since the Centre is located in EdUHK, it will maintain a focus on the cultural studies of education.

Through the organization of international conferences, symposiums, webinars, research workshops and salons, as well as providing support for individual research projects, IRCCS has developed a wide local and international network and fostered vibrant intellectual communities, catalyzing dialogues in interdisciplinary fields encompassing care studies and critical migrant studies. With the recent launch of the IRCCS Working Paper Series, as well as the ‘EdU Care Portal’ – an open-access digital archive supporting care studies and sustainable humanities, IRCCS also serves as a "Cultural R&D" hub for the promotion of research activities in cultural studies at the University, playing an active role in mentoring early-career academics and postgraduate students.

The pedagogical support for cultural studies comes from FHM’s Department of Literature and Cultural Studies, which saw the offering of key undergraduate courses such as Gender and Popular Culture, Introduction to Film Studies and Postcolonial Literatures in English. These courses expose students to postcolonial theories, fandom studies, media and cultural theories, feminist theories, digital humanities and environmental humanities.

The Centre is administered by a Management Committee, which reports to the Faculty of Humanities and the Office of the Vice President (Research and Development). The Management Committee consists of faculty members of FHM and EdUHK. An Advisory Board will be formed, consisting of international experts in cultural studies. Besides, the IRCCS will establish close links with various cultural studies research centres around Hong Kong for collaboration and intellectual exchange.

Centre for Research on Chinese Language and Education

Established by the Faculty of Humanities of The Education University of Hong Kong, the Centre for Research on Chinese Language and Education (CRCLE) is an interdepartmental platform for research on Chinese language and education. Rooted in the multicultural and multilingual Hong Kong society, CRCLE brings together talents and research outputs on Chinese linguistics and teaching and learning Chinese as the first and a second language across the globe, to strengthen the theoretical advancement and the applied research of the Chinese language, as well as the interplay between language theory and application. CRCLE endeavours to not only echo the multifaceted needs of Chinese language education in the region, but also to advance the development of teaching Chinese as an international language around the world.

The CRCLE comprises three thematic groups:

(a)	Chinese Language Studies: Research of this group covers a variety of fields concerning ancient and contemporary Chinese language, such as historical linguistics, syntax, phonology, typology and philology.
(b)	Chinese Language Education: Veteran teacher educators in this group initiate research on classical Chinese curriculum in Hong Kong, Chinese language development of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students and interplay of STEM education and Chinese language education.
(c)	Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: This group aims to explore how L2 learners acquire Chinese from a scientific perspective, with a particular emphasis on reading and writing development of L2 Chinese learners and Putonghua learning by Cantonese-speaking children.

Objectives

To undertake scientific research in the areas of Chinese language and education, including L1 and L2 Chinese learning and teaching;
To synergise research efforts and to create critical mass among colleagues within EdUHK and researchers in Greater China;
To disseminate Chinese language and education research to regional academia through publications, seminars, conferences and workshops; and
To provide an international platform for collaboration with global key players and for maintaining contacts with local partner schools and other end-users, within the ambit of Chinese language and education.

Centre for Research on Linguistics and Language Studies

The Centre for Research on Linguistics and Language Studies (CRLLS) aims to take a broad and intellectually stimulating perspective into language and linguistics research at the University. While EdUHK has transformed to an education-focused, multidisciplinary, and research-strong university, the establishment of CRLLS is to foster the research capacity in and contribute to the areas of linguistics and language studies for the advancement of the humanities.

The Centre comprises of two thematic groups:

(a)	Corpus Linguistics and language acquisition: To apply corpus linguistic methods into issues related to the cognitive and functional aspects of language learning and language acquisition, language assessment, and their applications in language teaching.
(b)	Language resource development for positive societal impact: To use digital technology to investigate social, education or psychological issues that are highly relevant to Hong Kong.

Objectives

To undertake scientific research in the areas of linguistics and language studies for the advancement of the humanities and the sciences involving language, and of education;
To promote the development of new methodology and technology to enhance language learning and teaching, and research;
To synergise research efforts and to create critical mass among colleagues within EdUHK and researchers in Hong Kong; and
To promote international collaboration through networking with other key players in selected fields within the ambit of “Linguistics and Language Studies”.

For more information on the people, projects and events, please visit the website: www.eduhk.hk/crlls.

Research Centre for Chinese Literature and Literary Culture

Background
The Research Centre for Chinese Literature and Literary Culture (RCCLLC) is established in response to the development of the EdUHK, the knowledge production trends over time, and the needs of our learning society.

To echo the strategic plan of transforming into a multi-disciplinary university of education focusing on education and complementary areas of study, "Chinese language and literature" is recognised as one of the potential subject areas to be developed at the University. The RCCLLC can combine the critical mass and resources in the Faculty of Humanities to launch all-rounded studies on Chinese literature and literary culture. The establishment of the RCCLLC is an effective development strategy for the University to foster its research capacity and make significant impact on the field of Chinese studies regionally and internationally.

The concept of "literary culture" is an extension of the more traditional idea of "literature". Apart from researches on literary works and their authors, literary thoughts and schools, genres and styles, and literary influences – the areas regarded as "literature proper", the study of literary culture also includes explorations of the generation and dissemination of literary texts and literary knowledge. In this regard, the publication and marketing of literary works, literature education, literary historiography, filmic and television adaptations of literature, graphic novels and lyrics of pop songs will be among the legitimate study areas. By the same token, Hong Kong literature and children's literature which have long been marginalised in the research of Chinese literature will be an indispensable part of literary culture.

Aims and Objectives of the RCCLLC

In accordance with the new direction of transforming the EdUHK into a multi-disciplinary university, the RCCLLC aims at enhancing the quality of subject knowledge research so as to create a favourable environment for the development of discipline-based postgraduate research degree programmes;
The RCCLLC promotes the culture of collaboration in research, by teaming experienced academics with juniors to work on projects and explore the possibilities of obtaining outside funds such as GRF;
Through publishing research outcomes, participating in and organising international conferences, the RCCLLC aims to expand Centre members' research capacity while fostering the EdUHK's academic image; and
Emphasising the linkage between the production of literary knowledge and literature education with an awareness of the Hong Kong context, the RCCLLC aims also at further consolidating the strength of the EdUHK in educational research and application.

Scope of Research
The RCCLLC takes Chinese literature and related cultural phenomena as research objects. Its scope can be briefly categorised into three areas:

Literature as such: research topics include major authors and works, literature trends and schools, literary genres and styles, literary influences and others;
Cultural artefact and phenomena generated from literature: research topics include anthologies of literary works, literary picture books, filmic and television adaptations of literature, lyrics of pop songs and others; and
Transmission of literary knowledge and literature education: research topics include production and marketing of literary texts, reading culture, literature education and others.

For more information on the people, projects and events, please visit the website: www.eduhk.hk/rccllc.

FACULTY OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development

The Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) is built on the work of the Centre for Education in Environmental Sustainability (CEES), which was established as a faculty-level Research Centre in FLASS since January 2013, with new theme areas to emphasise active research in related areas of science for environmental health and education for environmental sustainability for academic and scientific research outputs, application and knowledge transfer. The aim of the Centre is to develop education for environmental sustainability and science for environmental health through the formation of research and knowledge transfer networks with academics, scholars and professionals to improve the understanding of environment-related matters, and to stimulate pro-active environmentally beneficial actions through research outputs and application.

Specific objectives for expansion, innovation, and impact:

Develop multi-disciplinary research capacity with researchers from different fields;
Reinforce the synergism between teaching and research; and
Promote pro-environmental action, attitudes and awareness of environmental and sustainability issues

Theme Areas:

Theme 1	Education for Environmental Sustainability STEM Education for Sustainable Development (STEM) Education for Environmental Studies (EES)
Theme 2	Science for Environmental Health Environmental Health (EH) Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER) Environmental Technological Innovation (ETI) Eco-garden and Organic Farming (EOF)